Hi everyone and good morning. I wanted to start off by saying I had an idea in mind to write something and with heavy research, I completely changed my mind. When I started off with this article, I said I wanted to discuss HEMA, or hydroxyethyl methacrylate. I wanted to go into detail about it and gain more knowledge for me and for the next nail professional based off of how our industry seems to have more and more cases of allergic reactions. But then I had a thought, what is talking about it in a scientific way going to actually do?
You see this is where I come in as blogger completely different from my peers, because in my mind, I no longer want to discuss HEMA, I want to talk about prevention. Let me tell you why. After doing my normal research I saw something that stuck out to me, HEMA may be avoidable, but there are still many other “acrylates” in nail products you can still be allergic to, but it seems only HEMA is getting attention. So why focus on one thing when honestly I should be bringing the group of products to your attention. Think of it this way, you want to buy some food, and know you have a nut allergy. Popularly, peanuts are gonna make you breakout because you are allergic. So you go about life simply not eating peanuts. But somehow you go to a restaurant that uses cooking oil derivative of nuts to cook the food, and you eat it and start breaking out. Well you know you didn’t have any peanuts but what you didn’t know is you are allergic to an umbrella category of nuts, but you’re just finding out. So like HEMA, you could be allergic to an umbrella of acrylates. So it’s better to dig and find out what specifically or in a group could be causing an allergy.
So I choose to not discuss HEMA alone, I choose to write about prevention. Because HEMA and other products are in nail products, always have and always will be. And they aren’t bad because we need them for adhesion and more. They literally are the backbone of the nail products. So why do you think we focus so much on it? Because of improper use. WHOA! Let’s say that again. Nail techs are improperly using nail products. When we attend school, we are going to be instructed by fellow professionals to learn what these products are, and how to safely use them, correct? So it is now our civic duty to continue to use them correctly. However, nail techs in my opinion are becoming complacent. We see on YouTube of these giant acrylic brushes holding gallons of product before splashing it down on nail plates, nail techs are carelessly getting gel polish on skin causing over exposure. We can’t keep treating nail products like they aren’t hazardous. Because at the end of the day, they are.
All nail products in our industry contain SDS or Safety Data Sheets, because they are hazardous chemicals and we need to know how to use them, and how to fix problems when they breakdown or cause a hazard to ourselves and our clients. Professional products are sold to licensed professionals so that brands and manufacturers know they are being sold to people who have taken the time to be schooled on how to use their products correctly.
I bet we can cut down allergic reactions tremendously if we took our time with application, wore personal protective equipment such as gloves, and didn’t inhale nail filings by keeping a dust extractor on the table. All of these methods come together to equal prevention. And prevention is less and less what we are seeing today. So I am here to let you know, it is not about HEMA, it is about you, and what can you do to create a safer environment for you and your client. Remember, that product works fine, when properly cured, that product works fine, when not carelessly applied to the nail and not the skin.
If we want to see a change in our industry, we have to be the change, so wear your gloves, put on your face mask, do things correctly, and we will become better, and get the respect we deserve to have, when we decide to work professionally like the title we hold so dearly. So I hope this blog helps with your day to day activities and I hope it explains a little of what you can do to not make an impact, but be the impact. I’ll see you in the next post. Bye sweets.
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